In less than 10 days, countries from around the planet will come together in New York for the United Nations Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit. I look forward to representing the Pacific Community (SPC) at this important event, and throughout “Action Week” during the upcoming UN General Assembly.

Cameron Diver

The interconnections and synergies between major issues of global concern and the key role multilateralism and international cooperation can play in helping tackle these challenges are illustrated by the agenda of the week from 23 to 27 September. Underpinned by the Sustainable Development Goals, each of the high-level summits will focus on commitments to accelerate action across climate change, enhance efforts to secure healthy, peaceful and prosperous lives for all, mobilise sufficient financing to realise the 2030 Agenda and address the specific issues and vulnerabilities of small island developing states.

The week of summits kicks off with a focus on climate action. And this is, in my mind, highly appropriate. The multiplier effect of climate change undermines our efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals, it increases the challenges of biodiversity conservation and sustainable use, it intensifies competition and the potential for conflict around natural resources and it poses the single greatest existential threat to the lives and livelihoods of millions of people around the globe. From where I stand, the science on climate change is clear. To take only these examples, the IPCC Special Reports on the impacts of global warming of 1.5° above pre-industrial levels and climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems provide us with the most robust, high quality evidence base to understand the significant negative impact climate change is already having on our natural environment, on the wellbeing of people, ecosystems, flora and fauna and the massive and potentially irreversible consequences of inaction. As regards our ocean, the upcoming Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate is likely to confirm what the islands of the Blue Pacific continent, and others whose cultures, traditions and livelihoods are deeply attached to the ocean, have already sensed: the climate crisis is a real and present threat to ocean and coastal ecosystems and the human communities that depend on them.

The stakes are high, but where there is a threat there is also an opportunity. If we act now, there is still have time effectively to tackle the climate crisis! To put it simply: ambition without action is insufficient and simply not an option. SPC is committed to working with our Member States, international and regional partners to translate climate ambition into tangible climate action, for both mitigation and adaptation. The benefits could be huge, with the Global Commission on Adaptation estimating that investing $1.8 trillion in climate adaptation globally in just five areas from 2020 to 2030 could generate $7.1 trillion in total net benefits. We are also convinced that we must collectively harness the synergies between, for example, climate and the ocean, biodiversity, health, security, economic development, food systems, land use, gender and many other development areas to fully exploit the potential of the SDGs and ensure that future pathways to sustainable development are integrated, inclusive, nature-friendly, climate-informed and resilient. SPC is already implementing this approach with its Members and partners. One illustration is our EU funded PROTEGE project, whose intended outcomes include a transition to sustainable integrated agriculture and sound forestry resource management; sustainable fisheries and aquaculture management that is integrated in and adapted to island economies; sustainable integrated water resource management; and invasive alien species control, all against a backdrop of climate-change hazards that require ecosystem and biodiversity protection, resilience and restoration.

As was recently remarked to me at the Green Climate Fund Global Programming Conference in Korea: “we already know what we must do. We need to stop talking and start doing”. It is my sincere hope that “Action Week” in New York will indeed be a turning point for “doing”; a catalyst for firm, measurable commitments to tangible actions that match the level of ambition already expressed to address the climate crisis and the multiple development challenges that remain as we approach the final decade of the 2030 Agenda. If we do not translate ambition into action, we will fail ourselves, we will fail future generations and we will fail our planet. If, however, we take up the challenge and take sustained, coordinated and integrated action, we can win the battle against climate change, create new and innovative opportunities for development, deliver on the promise of the Global Goals and trace a positive pathway to new era of resilient and sustainable development. High hopes indeed…

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/translating-ambition-action-high-hopes-united-nations-action-week/feed/0AfDB ‘s Solar Project Aims at Making Africa a Renewable Power Househttp://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/afdb-s-solar-project-aims-making-africa-renewable-power-house/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=afdb-s-solar-project-aims-making-africa-renewable-power-house
http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/afdb-s-solar-project-aims-making-africa-renewable-power-house/#respondFri, 13 Sep 2019 07:49:49 +0000Razeena Raheemhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=163253When UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched the International Solar Alliance last October, he applauded the goal of mobilizing about $1 trillion dollars towards the deployment of some 1,000 gigawatts of solar energy by 2030. “It is clear,” he said, “that we are witnessing a global renewable energy revolution.” That revolution is also taking place under […]

When UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched the International Solar Alliance last October, he applauded the goal of mobilizing about $1 trillion dollars towards the deployment of some 1,000 gigawatts of solar energy by 2030.

“It is clear,” he said, “that we are witnessing a global renewable energy revolution.”

That revolution is also taking place under the leadership of the African Development Bank (AfDB) which has embarked on a highly ambitious solar project to make Africa a renewable power-house, titled “Desert to Power (DtP) Initiative”.

This project is expected to stretch across the Sahel region by tapping into the region’s abundant solar resource.

The Initiative aims to develop and provide 10 GW of solar energy by 2025 and supply 250 million people with green electricity including in some of the world’s poorest countries. At least 90 million people will be connected to electricity for the first time, lifting them out of energy poverty.

The AfDB has rightly pointed out that lack of energy remains a significant impediment to Africa’s economic and social development.

Initiated back in 2017 by the AfDB, the DtP has been described “a big and bold ambition: to light up and power the Sahel by building electricity generation capacity of 10 GW through photovoltaic (PV) solar systems via public, private, grid and off-grid projects by 2025, and consequently transform the industry, agriculture and economic fabric of the entire region”

Akinwumi A. Adesina

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, speaking in Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso where he attended the G5 Sahel Summit, emphasized the importance of political will in the success of the “Desert to Power” initiative, whose goal is to guarantee universal access to electricity for over 60 million people through solar energy.

The Burkinabe President Mark Roch Christian Kaboré applauded the Bank’s Desert to Power initiative, and also highlighted his country’s excellent relationship with the Bank, expressing his thanks for the portfolio of projects implemented. The President of AfDB is an invited guest at the G5 Sahel Summit of heads of state and government held on 13 September.

Dr. Adesina has drawn attention to the paradox that one of the world’s sunniest regions lacks access to electricity: “Now, more than ever, cooperation and cross-border trade in energy are essential to maintaining a secure supply over the long term given the challenges of climate change,” he said, adding that “in Burkina Faso, significant steps have been taken with the Bank-supported Yeleen rural electrification project.”

As part of its electrification strategy for Africa, the Bank is committed to accelerating access to high quality, low cost energy for the continent’s people. Critical network connections have been approved by the Bank’s Board: Mali-Guinea, Nigeria-Niger-Benin-Burkina Faso and Chad-Cameroon.

The Yeleen Rural Electrification Project, involving the production of off-grid energy in Burkina Faso, is the first venture under the DtP initiative.

A low-income Sahelian country, Burkina Faso has been negatively impacted by extreme climate variations such as declining rainfall, rising temperatures, floods and droughts. With installed capacity of 285 MW, about 3 million households in Burkina Faso are completely without power.

Of Burkina Faso’s 19 million population, 90% live in rural areas, where electricity access – mostly through diesel generators – stands at just 3%. Agriculture, the mainstay of Burkina Faso’s rural economy, is also the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

The project is financed through the Bank’s African Development Fund, in addition to co-financing mobilised by the Bank from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and the European Union. The project will also leverage private sector investments through equity and debt raised from commercial banks.

It will harness solar energy to deliver access to more than 900,000 people in rural areas – nearly 5% of the country’s population, and is expected to result in an average annual CO2 emissions reduction of 15,500 tons.

Meanwhile, Guterres said that renewable energy accounted for some 70 per cent of net additions to global power capacity in 2017.

Solar energy is at the centre of this revolution, he declared

“We need to rapidly shift away from our dependence on fossil fuels,” he said. “We need to replace them with clean energy from water, wind and sun. We must halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and change the way we farm.”

The alternative to moving to green energy, he said, “is a dark and dangerous future”.

According to AfDB, energy poverty in Africa is estimated to cost the continent 2-4 % GDP annually. The details of the “Desert to Power Initiative” were outlined as part of the Paris Agreement climate change talks at COP24 in Katowice, Poland.

“Energy is the foundation of human living – our entire system depends on it. For Africa right now, providing and securing sustainable energy is in the backbone of its economic growth,” said Magdalena J. Seol in the AfDB’s Desert to Power Initiative.

“A lack of energy remains as a significant impediment to Africa’s economic and social development. The project will provide many benefits to local people. It will improve the affordability of electricity for low income households and enable people to transition away from unsafe and hazardous energy sources, such as kerosene, which carry health risks,” added Seol.

Construction of the project will also create jobs and help attract private sector involvement in renewable energy in the region.

Putting the problem in its right perspective, Guterres said in the past decade, prices for renewables have plummeted and investments are on the rise. “Today, a fifth of the world’s electricity is produced by renewable energy. We must build on this.”

He said the world is seeing a groundswell of climate action.

“It is clear that clean energy makes climate sense. But it also makes economic sense. Today it is the cheapest energy. And it will deliver significant health benefits. Air pollution affects nearly all of us, regardless of borders.”

“We need to do this from the biggest cities to the smallest towns. The opportunities are tremendous.” He said some 75 per cent of the infrastructure needed by 2050 still remains to be built.

“How this is done will either lock us in to a high emission future or steer us towards truly sustainable low-emissions development. There is only one rational choice.”

According to AfDB, many women-led businesses currently face bigger barriers than men-led enterprises to accessing grid electricity – so the project has the potential to increase female participation in economic activities and decision-making processes.

The project has been launched in collaboration with the Green Climate Fund, a global pot of money created by the 194 countries who are party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to support developing countries adapt to and mitigate climate change. The program is designed to combine private sector capital with blended finance.

“If you look at the countries that this initiative supports, they’re the ones who are very much affected by the climate change and carbon emissions from other parts of the world,” said Seol.

“Given this, the investments will have a greater effect in these regions, which have a greater demand and market opportunity in the energy sector.”

The African continent holds 15% of the world’s population, yet is poised to shoulder nearly 50% of the estimated global climate change adaptation costs, according to the Bank.

These costs are expected to cut across health, water supply, agriculture, and forestry, despite the continent’s minimal contribution to global emissions.

However, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IREA) estimates that Africa’s renewable energy potential could put it at the forefront of green energy production globally.

It is estimated to have an almost unlimited potential of solar capacity (10 TW), abundant hydro (350 GW), wind (110 GW), and geothermal energy sources (15 GW) – and a potential overall renewable energy capacity of 310 GW by 2030.

Other renewables projects in Africa include The Ouarzazate solar complex in Morocco, which is one of the largest concentrated solar plants in the world.

It has produced over 814 GWh of clean energy since 2016 and last year, the solar plant prevented 217,000 tons of CO2 being emitted. Until recently, Morocco sourced 95% of its energy needs from external sources.

In South Africa, the Bank and its partner, the Climate Investment Funds, have helped fund the Sere Wind Farm – 46 turbines supplying 100 MW to the national power grid and expected to save 6 million tonnes of greenhouse gases over its 20-year expected life span. It is supplying 124,000 homes.

COP24 is the 24th conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This year countries are preparing to implement the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit the world’s global warming to no more than 2C.

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]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/afdb-s-solar-project-aims-making-africa-renewable-power-house/feed/0A New World? Are the Americas Returning to Old Problems?http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/new-world-americas-returning-old-problems/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-world-americas-returning-old-problems
http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/new-world-americas-returning-old-problems/#respondThu, 12 Sep 2019 17:41:38 +0000Jan Lundiushttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=163247When I in 1980 first arrived in America it was a new world to me. I went from New York to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic and like so many visitors and migrants before me I was overwhelmed by both familiar and strange impressions. Familiar due to books I had read and movies I […]

When I in 1980 first arrived in America it was a new world to me. I went from New York to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic and like so many visitors and migrants before me I was overwhelmed by both familiar and strange impressions. Familiar due to books I had read and movies I had seen, strange since I encountered unexpected things and new because both I and several of those I met compared themselves to the “old world”, i.e. Euroasia and parts of Africa.

A sense of uniqueness, admiration for an assumed freshness and difference, can be discerned in the writing of several American writers. Particularly during the 19th century we encounter ideas about wide horizons and an urge to experience and subdue what was assumed to be a wilderness with hidden riches and alluring possibilities. A “Wild West” epitomized in Horace Greeley´s 1865 phrase “Go West, young man, and grow up with the country.” An abundance of examples of exuberant feelings may be found in Walt Whitman´s poetry:

All the past we leave behind,
We debouch upon a newer mightier world, a varied world,
Fresh and strong the world we seize, world of labor and the
march,
Pioneers! O pioneers! 1

In the southern hemisphere, Walt Whitman has his equivalent in Pablo Neruda, who in a poem likened ”his” continent to a beloved woman:

When I look at the shape of America on the map,
my love, it is you I see:
the heights of copper on your head, your slender waist,
with throbbing rivers, sweet hills and meadows
and in the cold of the south your feet in its geography of duplicated gold.
Love, when I touch you not only have my hands explored your delight
but boughs and lands, fruits and water,
the springtime that I love, the desert moon, the breast of the wild dove,
the smoothness of stones worn away by the waters of the seas or the rivers
and the red thickness of the bush where thirst and hunger lie in wait.
And thus my spacious country welcomes me, little America, in your body. 2

However, it is easy to forget that this ”new” and eagerly coveted world was old as well. People coming from Asia settled there between 42,000 and 17,000 years ago. The last wave of migrants before the Europeans came were the Inuit who around 3500 BCE settled in the Arctic areas of North America. Nevertheless, these original settlers suffered drastic changes, their traditional way of life was crushed and transformed by a steady stream of Eurasian and African peoples. Migrants, slaves, and conquerors arrived in the ”new world”, settled and multiplied while the indigenous population plummeted. The newcomers did not only bring with them their culture but also diseases – influenza, pneumonic plagues, typhus, measles, cholera, malaria, mumps, yellow fever, pertussis, and smallpox, killing millions. It is assumed that 90 percent of the indigenous population in the hardest-hit areas died. This was one of the greatest human catastrophes in history, far exceeding The Black Death, which during five years in the mid-fourteen century killed up to one-third of the inhabitants of Europe and Asia. On top of this disaster came repression, expulsion, genocide, and enslavement of the natives. Nevertheless, new ideas and cultural expressions grew out of this cataclysm, cultures mingled and gave rise to something new.

Accordingly, the Americas and the Caribbean do in a certain sense remain a ”new world”, a habitat that has undergone transformations more drastic and profound than those that befell most societies in the ”old world”. The vibrant counter-culture of North America, the magic realism of Latin American authors, revolutionary and radical movements, pedagogy of the oppressed and liberation theology, all accompanied by stirring music mixing rhythms and tunes from all over the world. A mighty wave of cultural inspiration moving from south to north, from east to west. In distant Sweden I and my friends became inspired by such cultural contributions brought to us by movies, books, and records, but not only us, they also reached people from the entire ”third world”, Africa, south and southeast Asia, who in their turn contributed to the emergence of a youthful, radical and global culture.

I still felt this enthusiasm when I, due to various jobs and commitments, traveled back and forth across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The countries I visited still carried unhealed wounds of colonialism, plutocracy, and racism and LAC remains the most unequal region in the world, where injustices undermine the economic potential and wellbeing of its population. Nevertheless, in those days most nations appeared to recuperate from years of dictatorial repression and unpopular foreign interventions. Welfare programs, democracy, and social justice appeared to be on the rise. I even assumed that a new wave of inspiring change could come from the north, from a USA that no longer tried to hinder the development of true democracy south of its border:

It’s coming to America first.
The cradle of the best and of the worst.
It’s here they got the range
and the machinery for change
and it’s here they got the spiritual thirst.
It’s here the family’s broken
and it’s here the lonely say
that the heart has got to open
in a fundamental way.
Democracy is coming to the USA. 3

But alas, people of the USA has chosen the narcissistic plutocrat Donald J. Trump as their president and ”when America sneezes the whole world catches cold” 4 To me the Americas no longer appear to be particularily ”new”, instead they seem to be stuck in bygone times, or are caught by a nostalgia for times that were even worse than they are now.

Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala continoue to suffer from crime and corruption. In January, Guatemala recently expelled a UN-backed anti-corruption commission investigating the affairs of its president Jimmy Morales. Despite Trump’s tough stance on migration, domestic instability and violence in Central American countries are likely to continue to force people to leave their homes. In Nicaragua, a power-drunk and former revolutionary leader, Daniel Ortega, claims that ”thieves” and ”coup-mongers” are creating unrest and sends journalists and protesters to jail. Violent street fighting have caused several hundred deaths thousands more have fled to neighboring Costa Rica. In 1918, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez became the first person to lead Cuba outside the Castro family, which had been in power for more than six decades. However, Cubans are still waiting for democracy while Bermudez and his ministers declare that a new course is not likely to be set, having as their motto ”we are continuity”. The powerful and violent drug cartels of Colombia and Mexico are far from being subdued. Mexico’s new government has repeatedly assured the world about its commitment to combat druglords and rampant violence, but corruption remains endemic in Mexican society, reducing foreign investment and wiping out jobs from small and medium-sized businesses. 5

In Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro blames his country´s inflation rate of 10 million percent on an ”imperialist conspiracy” while hundreds of thousands Venezuelans are fleeing from home and country after a persistent struggle to find food and medicine. Many are arriving in neighboring Colombia, where in spite of positive reporting, drug lords and militias continue to thrive. In Brazil, the newly elected Jair Bolsonaro almost immediately issued a series of executive orders impinging the rights of minorities. Bolsonaro has been praising Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, the most notorious torturer during General Ernesto Geisel´s dictatorship (1974-1979) and it appears as if he is considering oppressive military dictatorships of bygone days to have been beneficial for all, declaring he wants to ”make America great again. I want to make Brazil great, Paraguay great, Bolivia great, Uruguay — all of our countries.” 6 Evo Morales who since 2006 has led Bolivia is trying to continue his hold on power. He recently asked Bolivia´s Supreme Court to nullify the results of a 2016 referendum which rejected his bid to run for a fourth term and forced it to scrap limits for every political office in the country. Argentina´s former president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who in spite of being embroiled in a myriad of ongoing corruption investigations remains popular with voters is expected to be President Mauricio Macri’s main competitor for the presidency in the October elections.

Maybe the Americas is not a new world after all. Like so many nations in the ”old world”, worrisome numbers of their leaders and voters seem to be stuck in an absurd nostalgia for a non-existent golden age of bygone eras.

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/new-world-americas-returning-old-problems/feed/0Big Power Conflicts are Increasingly Taking Place in Outer Spacehttp://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/big-power-conflicts-increasingly-taking-place-outer-space/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=big-power-conflicts-increasingly-taking-place-outer-space
http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/big-power-conflicts-increasingly-taking-place-outer-space/#respondThu, 12 Sep 2019 09:18:31 +0000Daniel A. Porrashttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=163242Daniel A. Porras is a fellow for space security at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR).

Whether it be the US, Russia, China, or any other major military force, all employ space capabilities to some extent.

As a result of this dependence, some militaries are developing the tools to deny their adversaries the use and benefit of space systems. These capabilities come in several different categories, but they all share one common feature: they are threats to space systems. This is not unexpected.

Much the same as aircraft and anti-aircraft weapons, it was only a matter of time before military actors began developing the means to neutralise advantages gained from space.

Yet while this technology has previously been limited to a few players, new innovations in asymmetric warfare are quickly changing the dynamics of what might be conflict in space.

Moreover, there is a very small possibility (and it is highly remote) that some capabilities be put in space that can target objects in the atmosphere or on the surface of the Earth. These weapon systems would represent a threat from space systems.

As unlikely as this possibility might be, it is sufficiently real for some states who see counterspace weapons as possible insurance against attempts at ‘dominance’ in outer space.

Daniel A. Porras

The Secure World Foundation (SWF) — a think-tank based in Washington, DC — maintains a global counterspace capabilities assessment. This open-source document uses publicly available information to show which countries are developing what capabilities.

The principal actors pursuing such capabilities are the US, Russia, China and India. While the assessment includes a few other outliers that might have the building blocks for counterspace capabilities (i.e. Israel, Iran, Pakistan, North Korea), recent events indicate that there are more countries now actively seeking ‘weapons in space’, including France and Japan.

There are four main types of counterspace capabilities. The first is ‘kinetic’, namely those that use physical force to cause damage to a satellite. This includes anti-satellite missiles (like the one recently used by India) or even co-orbital drones. These drones are highly manoeuvrable craft that can repair, refuel or even remove satellites from orbit. Such tools can be used for beneficial purposes, like debris removal, or possibly to attack satellites.

The second type of counterspace capability is ‘non-kinetic’, which use high-powered energy to cause disruption or damage to satellites. At present, several countries are developing lasers that could be used in this way, including the US, Russia, China and France.

In the 1980s, then-US President Ronald Reagan launched an initiative called Star Wars, which consisted of satellites with missile interceptors that could destroy ICBMs in orbit.

The main problem with kinetic and non-kinetic weapons is that when they damage or destroy a satellite, they also create debris, which does not necessarily come back down to Earth right away. As one expert once told me, it is like having a war in which the bullets never stop flying.

The other two categories of capabilities are less destructive but are much more prevalent. Electronic counterspace capabilities, which includes jamming and spoofing, is easily accessible to many actors, including non-state actors. The same can be said for cyber capabilities, which can be deployed for espionage, surveillance, or even destruction of space systems.

One of the major concerns with these two categories of capabilities is that there is no consensus around when ‘interference’ becomes an attack. This is particularly worrying as NATO just announced plans to declare that an ‘attack’ on a satellite is enough to trigger collective self-defence. There is no indication whether there is consensus among NATO members as to what is considered an attack on a space object, nor whether that same view is shared with any other countries.

Threats ‘from’ space systems

While the counterspace capabilities listed above describe current threats ‘to’ space systems, there is another challenge that features often in space security talks, namely threats ‘from’ space systems.

These are different because rather than targeting space objects, these capabilities would be able to target objects in the atmosphere or on the ground. At present, no country has ever even hinted at plans to deploy such weapons, except the US.

In the 1980s, then-US President Ronald Reagan launched an initiative called Star Wars, which consisted of satellites with missile interceptors that could destroy ICBMs in orbit. This idea has long been refuted as being about as technically or economically feasible as deploying ‘pink dragons’ in space.

Nevertheless, space-based missile interceptors are being discussed by the US once again, albeit at a very superficial level. The concern here is that space-based missile defence is a pretext to deploy missiles that can strike surface targets. And while many experts cite the extreme remoteness of the possibility of such a weapon system ever being deployed, the mere perception of a threat is creating real challenges in multilateral discussions.

Multilateral efforts to mitigate threats

UN member states acknowledged the growing challenges to space security decades ago, yet there is little progress on this issue. States are generally divided into two camps. Some (mostly Western, developed states) are concerned about threats ‘to’ their space systems, and want voluntary measures to provide transparency in space. This includes measures like launch notifications, sharing orbital data and publishing national space policies.

Others (led by Russia and China but also including most of the rest of the world), are not opposed to voluntary measures but would prefer to see a treaty, which is legally binding. These states are also concerned by the possibility (albeit still a remote one) that someone might one day put weapons in space that can threaten people on the ground. For these states, only a legally binding instrument will suffice.

For the moment, there does not seem to be much room for consensus. The two camps in space security discussions continue to hold firm on their positions. One option for moving forward might be to focus on specific issues that affect all, such as the testing of destructive anti-satellite technology that creates debris.

However, more ambitious solutions will likely continue to be out of reach, particularly if space-based missile defence continues to feature in the background of multilateral discussions without being directly addressed.

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/big-power-conflicts-increasingly-taking-place-outer-space/feed/0Calls for Reform, Research and Reorganisation in Leprosy Healthcarehttp://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/calls-reform-research-reorganisation-leprosy-healthcare/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=calls-reform-research-reorganisation-leprosy-healthcare
http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/calls-reform-research-reorganisation-leprosy-healthcare/#respondThu, 12 Sep 2019 05:42:55 +0000Stella Paulhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=163227Rachna Kumari of Munger in Eastern India’s Bihar state is not yet 30. But she’s already been married at 18, abandoned by her husband after she was diagnosed with leprosy and become an award-winning advocate of the disease. She has traversed a long road. And this week she undertook another step in her journey to […]

The 20th International Leprosy Congress (ILC) is being held Sept. 10 to 13 in Manila, Philippines. The conference is hosted every three years and was last held in China in 2016. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS

By Stella PaulMANILA, Sep 12 2019 (IPS)

Rachna Kumari of Munger in Eastern India’s Bihar state is not yet 30. But she’s already been married at 18, abandoned by her husband after she was diagnosed with leprosy and become an award-winning advocate of the disease. She has traversed a long road. And this week she undertook another step in her journey to fly to Manila, Philippines, as a delegate at the 20th International Leprosy Congress (ILC).

The grassroots leader, who is employed by the International Leprosy Elimination Partnership (ILEP), has also previously traveled to Ethiopia and China to share stories about her life and her work.

Prior to attending the ILC yesterday Sept. 12, she participated in the Global Forum of People’s Organisations on Hansen’s Disease, an event co-organised by Japan’s The Nippon Foundation (TNF) and Sasakawa Health Foundation (SHF). The global forum gave her valuable insights into the universal challenges of leprosy-affected and leprosy advocates such as stigma and lack of financial sustainability, Kumari said.

She said she also gained technical education and management skills, which she feels are crucial for success in advocacy.

She added that when she carries out her work in communities across Munger, she has no official identification to show many of the Hansen’s disease-affected persons she comes across, many of whom are weary of strangers as they continue to face discrimination and stigma.

This simple form of accreditation, Kumari said, played a huge role in advocacy against the disease.

“[In] my community, I have nothing to prove that I am an advocate, a knowledge builder. So, people doubt me, they don’t know if they [can] trust me. A simple document of identification can be a big step to build trust between a community worker and her community,” Kumari told IPS.

Maya Ranavare, who works as a treasurer in Association of People Affected by Leprosy (APAL), in western India’s Maharashtra state, says that partnerships among organisations must not remain in closed rooms but should instead result in collective action that reaches communities.

“There is a sense of competition among people’s organisations. Instead, we must act collectively. Also, if it is a partnership, then there should not be duplicity. Tasks should be distributed evenly. If one organisation is doing mobilisation, other should work on technical education. This will increase everyone’s skill and ability,” Ranavare told IPS.

According to Dr Arturo Cunanan, the Chief Medical Officer of the Culion Sanitarium and General Hospital in the Philippines, there needs to be programmatic changes in the government public health system. Budgetary allocation, innovation, new research and sensitisation of healthcare workers are all needs of the hour.

“Leprosy elimination is now like a car that has run out of fuel. We need that fuel right now. The fuel is innovation. Take vaccination for example. Why is that even after centuries, we still don’t have a vaccination for universal application?

“Also, we need innovative, easier ways to diagnose leprosy. If you look at Tuberculosis, there are several ways to do a quick test and find out if a person has it. But for leprosy, we still have only clinical test. We need new tools, quicker ways and for all of that we need new investments in innovation, research,“ Cunanan told IPS.

The ILC started runs Sep 10 to 13. The congress will identify the priorities for a future course of action to end leprosy. Currently there are 200,000 new leprosy cases reported every year across the world, with 60 percent of those new cases originating in India.

According to the organisers, the congress will identify the priorities for the future course of action for achieving zero leprosy. The congress also emphasised the importance of partnerships and a new future partnership among the leprosy-affected people’s organisations has already started between HANDA – a Chinese NGO– and PERMATA, an NGO based in Indonesia.

HANDA, which has recently been recognised by the government of China for their skills in project management, finance management and organisational re-structuring, is set to share these crucial skills with PERMATA.

“We will soon host a delegation from PERMATA in our Guanzhou office. They have a special interest in finance management and we are ready to share our expertise and experience in that area with them,” Sally Qi of HANDA told IPS.

SHF was instrumental in building this partnership and encouraged both HANDA and PERMATA to start a dialogue on skill sharing, Qi added.

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]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/calls-reform-research-reorganisation-leprosy-healthcare/feed/0‘Conference Emphasises Need for Partnerships to Create a World Without Leprosy’http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/conference-emphasises-need-partnerships-create-world-without-leprosy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=conference-emphasises-need-partnerships-create-world-without-leprosy
http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/conference-emphasises-need-partnerships-create-world-without-leprosy/#respondWed, 11 Sep 2019 17:06:08 +0000Stella Paulhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=163224Forty years ago, Yohei Sasakawa saw his father moved to tears after meeting and witnessing the suffering of people affected by leprosy – also known as Hansen’s disease. Not only did the patients have a physical illness, but they also suffered from social exclusion and discrimination. It made the young Sasakawa vow to work for […]

Forty years ago, Yohei Sasakawa saw his father moved to tears after meeting and witnessing the suffering of people affected by leprosy – also known as Hansen’s disease. Not only did the patients have a physical illness, but they also suffered from social exclusion and discrimination. It made the young Sasakawa vow to work for the elimination of leprosy from the world – just as his father had been doing.

Decades later, after visiting 120 countries and having meetings with countless policy makers and state leaders, Sasakawa – now the World Health Organisation (WHO) Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination – is delivering on his promise.

At the first day of the 20th International Leprosy Congress (ILC), being held in Manila, Philippines, the chairperson ofThe Nippon Foundation (TNF) called for activists, scholars and those affected the globe over, to rally behind the goal of a world free of stigma, discrimination and violation of human rights of those affected by leprosy. The ILC, which ends Sep 13, is supported by TNF sister organisation the Sasakawa Health Foundation (SHF).

Sharing his experiences, he recalled how he, TNF and SHF lobbied the United Nations to recognise the elimination of stigma against leprosy-affected people as a human rights issue.

Sasakawa reminded delegates that it was a tough journey against several odds as policy makers and diplomats showed little interest in the human rights of leprosy-affected people. He told the congress how during a 2003 U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, only five members attended the event to discuss stigma as a human rights violation in a room that could accommodate 50.

Not one to give up, Sasakawa kept pursuing the issue until finally in December 2010 the U.N. General Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution on elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members and accompanying principle and guidelines was passed.

“I believe the elimination has been an important milestone in my journey,” Sasakawa said.

But despite the U.N. resolution and various local laws at country level worldwide abolishing policies like segregation and isolation of the leprosy-affected, society still stigmatises and discriminates against Hansen’s disease patients as well those who work within the field, like health care workers etc.

He said one example of this remains is the classification of leprosy as a neglected tropical disease.

“I would like to express my opposition to leprosy being considered as one of the neglected tropical diseases. Leprosy has never been neglected even for a moment by both persons affected and by people who have worked hard for their betterment. In my opinion, this medical terminology feels like it is looking down on the patients and also shows a lack of respect towards those are fighting against leprosy today. Leprosy is an ongoing issue.”

However, Sasakawa also acknowledged that in other areas — such as the partnerships and networking — there has been great progress. The Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy network was a significant step forward.

“The collaboration will greatly enhance our work towards achieving ‘Zero Leprosy,'” he said, adding that the strengthening of these partnerships, especially with the governments, was crucial to reach the common goal of a leprosy-free world.

“Whenever I go abroad, I always meet with the national leaders of the countries. We cannot solve the issue of leprosy without their understanding and support. Without their support, we cannot secure the budget for activities to eliminate leprosy and the associated discrimination,” he reminded the congress.

Rachna Kumari, of International Federation of Anti-leprosy Associations or ILEP, who is based in Munger in Eastern India’s Bihar state, told IPS: “We cannot end stigma just by treating leprosy as a health issue.”

If only health workers are assigned to work on leprosy, they will work on medication. That is not enough to solve the problem we face. So, we need education. Government must include information on leprosy in school books. There must be billboards and large posters which can educate both patients and healthcare workers. Only with such a holistic approach we can win this,” Kumari said.

Earlier, delivering the keynote speech, the Philippine Secretary of Health Francisco Duque asserted that his government remains serious about respecting the rights of leprosy-affected people.

“The vision of our Universal healthcare for the Filipino people is deeply tied to the aspirations of the 2016-2020 global strategy for the leprosy and goal number 3 of the SDGs or the sustainable development goals. We remain committed to these goals and aspirations. We are committed to zero stigma, zero disability, zero transmission and zero disease,” Duque told the congress.

Duque also stressed the importance of partnerships to achieve the goals yet unmet.

“We are only a few months away form 2020 and our midterm strategy is only getting underway. We must work together. This year’s conference emphasises the need for partnerships to create a world without leprosy. And our success and your success may define the relations we have made and continue to make.

Acknowledging stigma as a “barrier for early detection and treatment“ of leprosy, Huong Thi Giang Tran, WHO’s Director for Disease Control in the Western Pacific also said that stigma limits the opportunity for life and leads to social and economic exclusion. She called for the addressing of stigma at the policy level.

Climate change is already altering the face of our planet. Research shows that we need to put all our efforts over the coming decade to limit warming to 1.5°C and mitigate the catastrophic risks posed by increased droughts, floods, and extreme weather events.

But our actions will not be effective if they do not include measures to ensure social justice, equality and a gender perspective. So, how do we integrate gender equality in climate change actions?

The impact of climate change affects women and girls disproportionately due to existing gender inequalities. It also threatens to undermine socio-economic gains made over previous decades.

With limited or no access to land and other resources including finance, technology and information, women and girls suffer more in the aftermath of natural disasters and bear increased burdens in domestic and care work.

Women and girls have also seen their water collection time increased and firewood and fodder collection efforts thwarted in the face of droughts, floods and deforestation, occupying a significant portion of their time that could have been used for their education or leisure.

This is not only theory. For example, women and children accounted for more than 96 per cent of those impacted by the flash floods in Solomon Islands in 2014 and in Myanmar, women accounted for 61 percent of fatalities caused by Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

Women and girls also remain marginalized in decision-making spheres — from the community level to parliaments to international climate negotiations. Global climate finance for mitigation and adaptation programmes remain out of reach for women and girls because of their lack of knowledge and capacity to tap into these resources.

Despite these challenges, women and girls play a critical role in key climate related sectors and have developed adaptation and resilience-building strategies and mitigation techniques, such as driving the demand for renewable energy at the household and community levels for lighting, cooking and productive use solutions that the international community must now support.

Women are holders of traditional farming methods, first responders in crises situations, founders of cooperatives, entrepreneurs of green energy, scientists and inventors, and decision-makers with respect to the use of natural resources.

Women comprise an average of 43 percent of the agricultural work force in developing countries1 and manage 90% of all household water and fuel-wood needs in Africa. Some studies have shown that if women were afforded equal access to productive resources as men, their agricultural outputs would exceed men’s by 7 to 23 percent. It is therefore imperative to embrace and scale-up the initiatives of the 51 per cent of the world’s population.

In recent times, women and girls have used their knowledge and experience to lead in mitigation efforts. From developing apps to track and reduce the carbon emitted as a result of individual consumption, to reducing food by connecting neighbors, cafes, and local shops to share leftover and unsold food 2.

Young women scientists, like South-African teenager Kiara Nirghin, are making a difference in the fight against climate change. They are building on the legacies of women and girls such as Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, who empowered communities to manage their natural resources in a sustainable way.

At the same time, UNDP and UN Women have been collaborating to advance gender equality and women’s leadership on climate change. For example, in Ecuador, the two UN agencies have teamed up with the government to support the inclusion of gender in the country’s climate action plans.

UNDP and UN Women have also collaborated globally to ensure that gender remains a key factor when world leaders make critical decisions on climate change.

If policies and projects take into account women’s particular roles, needs and contributions to climate action and support women’s empowerment, there will be a greater possibility to limit warming to 1.5°C in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We must continue to engage women and women’s organizations, learning from their experiences on the ground to build the evidence for good practices and help replicate more inclusive climate actions.

The UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit in New York on September 23, 2019 is a unique opportunity to elevate at the highest level the need for substantive participation of women and girls in efforts against climate change.

At the Summit, there will be several initiatives put forth to address climate change, including one focusing on gender equality. The initiative recognizes the differential impact of climate change on women and girls, and seeks support for their leadership as a way to make climate actions more effective.

It calls for the rights, differentiated needs and contributions of women and girls to be integrated into all actions, including those related to climate finance, energy, industry and infrastructure. It promotes support for women and girls in developing innovative tools and participating in mitigation and adaptation efforts and calls for accountability by tracking and reporting progress towards achieving these goals.

For climate action to get more traction and be effective, we need a critical mass of Governments and other stakeholders to sign on to the Climate Action Summit’s gender-specific initiative. The world cannot afford to keep limiting the potential of women and girls in shaping climate actions, as all evidence points towards the benefits of their involvement.

There is already interest by United Nations Member States, as shown in the increased integration of gender considerations in their national climate plans, but a broader movement is needed. We need multi-stakeholder partnerships and engage a critical mass of supporters – governments, UN entities, financial mechanisms, and civil society organizations to support the gender-specific initiative of the SG’s Climate Action Summit.

The time for gender-responsive climate action is now.

1 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), The State of Food and Agriculture: Closing the Gender Gap for Development (Rome: FAO, 2011a).2 Olio, a food-sharing app was founded by women from Sweden, the UK and USA. For more info: https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/women-for-results/women-leading-a-food-sharing-revolution; One Million Women was founded by a woman in Australia to get one million women to change their lifestyles to mitigate climate change. The group has an app that provides the tools to cut carbon pollution in home energy savings and clean energy options, minimising food waste, reducing over-consumption, investing and divesting (your money) wisely, sustainable fashion, low-impact travel, etc. For more info: https://www.1millionwomen.com.au/

Ulrika Modéer is UNDP’s Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy, and Anita Bhatia is UN Women’s Deputy Executive Director for Resource Management, Sustainability and Partnerships.

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/lets-get-climate-action-traction-gender-equality/feed/0Nothing For Us, Without Us – Hansen’s Disease-Affected Tell International Gatheringhttp://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/nothing-us-without-us-hansens-disease-affected-tell-international-gathering/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nothing-us-without-us-hansens-disease-affected-tell-international-gathering
http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/nothing-us-without-us-hansens-disease-affected-tell-international-gathering/#respondWed, 11 Sep 2019 12:26:57 +0000Ben Kritzhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=163218Stronger government action to fight stigma and discrimination, more government funding for health and non-health support programmes, and a larger role for people’s organisations in developing policy towards Hansen’s disease treatment and eradication are still needed for eliminating the disease. This was some of the recommendations made by participants of the first ever Global Forum of […]

Jennifer Quimno of the Coalition of Leprosy Advocates of the Philippines (CLAP) (centre) is joined by Sri Lanka's Shagana Thiygalingam (L) and Amarasinghe Manjula (R) after Quimno delivered the recommendations presented by the Global Forum of People's Organisations on Hansen's Disease to the International Leprosy Congress in Manila on September 11. Credit: Ben Kritz/IPS

By Ben KritzMANILA, Sep 11 2019 (IPS)

Stronger government action to fight stigma and discrimination, more government funding for health and non-health support programmes, and a larger role for people’s organisations in developing policy towards Hansen’s disease treatment and eradication are still needed for eliminating the disease.

This was some of the recommendations made by participants of the first ever Global Forum of People’s Organisations on Hansen’s Disease today, Sept. 11 during a presentation to global academics, scientists, researchers, health staff, partners and those affected by the disease at the 20th International Leprosy Congress (ILC).

Jennifer Quimno, secretary of the Coalition of Leprosy Advocates of the Philippines (CLAP), was chosen by the forum participants to represent the group.

The ILC, which is currently being held in Manila, Philippines, is hosted every three years and was last held in China in 2016.

Prior to the start of the congress, Japan’s Sasakawa Health Foundation (SHF) and The Nippon Foundation (TNF), which support elimination of the disease as well as various organisations of persons affected by the disease, held a global gathering from Sept. 7 to 10. For the first time, organisations of those affected by Hansen’s disease from 23 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean met to share their know-how and experiences in eliminating Hansen’s disease.

Along with recommendations for eliminating discriminatory laws and practices, including social, psychological, and economic support in Hansen’s disease management programmes, and giving people affected by the disease a greater voice in policy formulation, the forum debated that a shift in terminology from “leprosy” to “Hansen’s disease” be promoted to help combat the historic stigma associated with the disease. No consensus was reached, however.

The recommendations called for comprehensive action and the involvement of non-health agencies and other stakeholders, because areas such as clean water and sanitation, proper housing, education, and dignified work are all, in the view of people’s organisations, critical to efforts to stamp out the disease.

The forum also called for a much greater role for people’s organisations in sustaining Hansen’s Disease treatment, rehabilitation, and services, and in promoting dignity, equality, and respect for human rights.

“Hansen’s disease is more than a disease caused by a bacterium. Poverty, institutional, social and political neglect, complacency and the structural invisibility of vulnerable populations contribute to the perpetuation of Hansen’s disease,” the final draft of the forum’s recommendations read.

Other key recommendations presented to the ILC by the forum include: More funding for research to fill scientific knowledge gaps that still exist (much remains unclear about the transmission of the disease); greater focus by national programmes on case detection, disability prevention, and rehabilitation during treatment; and more funding for “care after cure” programmes, including psychological, social, and economic rehabilitation.

To combat the stigma associated with the disease, the forum urged the widest possible dissemination and adoption by governments, NGOs, and other stakeholders of United Nations guidelines for the elimination of stigma and discrimination.

The conclusions also made a firm demand for the elimination of all existing discriminatory laws and practises globally, saying that this would further require “affirmative and reparation policies,” in order to be truly effective in promoting equality.

The people’s organisations also made a call for a greater role in government policy-making toward leprosy. They did not neglect improvements in their own capabilities as well. While calling on governments to develop measurable action plans, the people’s organisations noted they must improve their effectiveness by through strengthening networks, and engaging more productively with governments.

Hope for the future, but a few uncertainties

Participants at the global forum who attended the first day of the ILC expressed hope the recommendations would lead to positive action, but noted uncertainties remain.

“Being able to do this at the ILC is a milestone for us, to have our perspective heard,” Frank Onde, president of CLAP, told IPS. While people affected by Hansen’s disease have regularly participated in the ILC, Onde felt this was the first time recommendations were presented in an organised way.

For Indonesia’s Ermawati, a member of PerMaTa, “Attending this congress is like a dream, to come from my village to be involved in a gathering like this,” she told IPS. “It’s inspiring, and I hope it would inspire others [affected by leprosy] to join us and help others.”

Ermawati was hopeful the recommendations would lead to greater awareness and reduce stigma, particularly the discrimination against women in her country. “I hope it leads to greater acceptance, particularly of us women. In my country, the stigma is very great.” One problem faced by Indonesian women afflicted with leprosy is that they cannot marry; if laws in an area do not actually prohibit it, the culture in most places encourages men to shun these women.

Shagana Thiyagalingam, who is from Sri Lanka, felt that Quimno’s presentation was inspiring. Quimno spoke of how after both she and her father had contracted the disease, but how she still continued her studies currently works with the government health department. “Her story was so motivational,” Shagana told IPS. “It should encourage other women to come forward and feel less stigma.”

While optimistic about what lies ahead, CLAP’s Onde, and his Indonesian counterpart Paulus Manek, the president of PerMaTa, expressed a few reservations. “The barriers [between people’s organisations and government agencies] really need to be minimised,” Onde said.

Manek saw the size of the ILC gathering itself as a sort of barrier to effective action. “It’s almost too big,” Manek said. “I see people here, they are interested in one or two issues only. Maybe there should be a closer focus on fewer issues at once.”

He also suggested that new guidelines from the United Nations Human Rights Council would be useful.

“It would help us,” Manek said. “I think the media can also help to spread awareness and stopping discrimination.”

Quimno for her part was hoping to see some concrete actions taken as a result of her presentation on behalf of the global forum. “There are so many gaps to fill, so I would hope these people here would commit to studying and planning actions to take on the things we recommended. That would be progress.”

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/nothing-us-without-us-hansens-disease-affected-tell-international-gathering/feed/0Dumping Fossil Fuels to Drive Green Developmenthttp://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/dumping-fossil-fuels-drive-green-development/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dumping-fossil-fuels-drive-green-development
http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/dumping-fossil-fuels-drive-green-development/#respondWed, 11 Sep 2019 08:43:25 +0000Busani Bafanahttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=163214Disinvestments in fossil fuels amounting to 11 trillion dollars – eight times the global GDP – have been recorded in the last six months of this year, according to a new report. ‘$11 Trillion and counting: new goals for a fossil-free world’, was released by 350.org in Cape Town, South Africa this week ahead of the Financing the […]

]]>The post Dumping Fossil Fuels to Drive Green Development appeared first on Inter Press Service.
]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/dumping-fossil-fuels-drive-green-development/feed/0The Emergence of a Global Voice for Hansen’s Disease Affected Personshttp://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/emergence-global-voice-hansens-disease-affected-persons/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=emergence-global-voice-hansens-disease-affected-persons
http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/emergence-global-voice-hansens-disease-affected-persons/#respondTue, 10 Sep 2019 14:17:30 +0000Ben Kritzhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=163200The Global Forum of People’s Organisations on Hansen’s Disease, which was attended by members of people’s organisations from 23 different countries, wrapped up in Manila, Philippines, today Sept. 10 after four days of discussion and deliberation. The main outcome was a set of recommendations, which included participants stating that those affected by the disease should […]

Her experience and the chance "to help strengthen Colombia, the world, and my family" through participating in the Global Forum of People's Organisations on Hansen's Disease, sponsored by the Nippon Foundation and the Sasakawa Health Foundation, was like "rising from the ashes" for Lucrecia Vazques from Felehansen Colombia. Vazques' family was hit hard by leprosy, with not only herself, but her son and one-month-old granddaughter being afflicted. Credit: Ben Kritz/IPS

By Ben KritzMANILA, Sep 10 2019 (IPS)

The Global Forum of People’s Organisations on Hansen’s Disease, which was attended by members of people’s organisations from 23 different countries, wrapped up in Manila, Philippines, today Sept. 10 after four days of discussion and deliberation.

The main outcome was a set of recommendations, which included participants stating that those affected by the disease should have more inclusive roles in the global campaign against leprosy.

Asked to share his impressions of the forum with his fellow participants, Joshua Oraga, who is a member of ALM Kenya, a local Hansen’s disease non-profit, told the audience, “We should all familiarise ourselves with the WHO [World Health Organisation] guidelines on strengthening the participation of persons affected by leprosy in leprosy services. That should be our creed, because if you look at that document, you will see that we are the only stakeholders who have an end-to-end role.”

He said that those affected by leprosy or Hansen’s disease had a role in overcoming stigma and discrimination.

“We have a role in the promotion of equity, social justice, and human rights, we have a role in addressing gender issues, we have a role in the dissemination of information, education, communication…. We have a role in advocacy, we have a role in counselling and psychological support, we have a role in training and capacity-building, we have a role in referral services, we have a role in resource mobilisation…. So, we are everywhere!”

The recommendations will be presented on the first day of the International Leprosy Congress (ILC), which is also being held in Manila from Sept. 11 to 13. The recommendations addressed increasing awareness of Hansen’s Disease among the public and governments, calling for greater government support for people’s organisations’ advocacies, taking a larger role in helping to form anti-leprosy policy, and working to build sustainability and more effective networks among organisations spread around the world.

A true people’s forum

To Dr. Takahiro Nanri, Executive Director of SHF, the real value of the recommendations lies not in their details, but in the manner in which they developed.

Nanri noted that the forum’s carefully-planned agenda was quickly thrown off-schedule by the spirited discussions among the participants. “The people really led the forum, and did the work they wanted to do, and I am very happy about that.”

“The recommendations were good ones, but what I think is really important is the process we saw,” he added.

Oraga was likewise pleased and motivated by his experience. Oraga, who had leprosy as a youth, said, “This is the first time I have had the opportunity to take part in a meeting at this level, so imagine my excitement and happiness to be able to come here.”

Oraga also expressed his gratitude for the work that Yohei Sasakawa, World Health Organization’s (WHO) Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination and chairperson of TNF, has done over the last four decades. Sasakawa’s foundations have contributed over USD200 million in financial support for the WHO’s Global Leprosy programme. He also advocated for discrimination and stigmatisation against people affected by Hansen’s disease to be included in the United Nations human rights agenda. The resolution was passed in 2010.

“He has done so much for leprosy around the world, and personally I am grateful. Just think of it, because of Mr. Sasakawa, in three years, maybe leprosy will just be like any ordinary sickness,” Oraga said.

Lucrecia Vazques of Felehansen, Colombia also felt the forum was an extraordinary experience. “It’s been wonderful,” she told IPS through a Spanish translator. “It is like resuscitating after a hard moment.”

Vazques’s bubbly personality belies her own difficult experience with Hansen’s disease, which not only afflicted her, but her one-month-old granddaughter and her son, who was diagnosed first.

“It was hard,” Lucrecia said. “I had no knowledge whatsoever.We thought we would die.”

“But there was something to fight for, and to live for, and here I am. This forum means rising from the ashes. And if I had the choice, I would rise from the ashes again, and I would be right here, to help strengthen Colombia, and the world, and my family,” she said.

Looking ahead

But there is much work to still do.

“Because this was a people-led forum, it gives us direction. As you know, our resources are not limitless. We have an obligation, but it is of course better if we can maximise our efforts, and the recommendations help,” Nanri said.

Nanri reiterated the value of the “process” that he saw evolve during the forum, particularly in the context of the Joint Campaign on World Leprosy Day 2020, which will be observed on Jan. 26 next year.

“This was a step. You don’t go from the ground to the 10th floor in one jump. So now the first step has been taken. The next step is to get the groups around the world to do the activities at the same time,” which is the goal of the joint campaign. “When these recommendations are presented at the ILC, the next step can begin,” he said.

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/emergence-global-voice-hansens-disease-affected-persons/feed/0Vaping Fad Boosts Dangerous Nicotine Addictionhttp://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/vaping-fad-boosts-dangerous-nicotine-addiction/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=vaping-fad-boosts-dangerous-nicotine-addiction
http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/vaping-fad-boosts-dangerous-nicotine-addiction/#respondTue, 10 Sep 2019 14:17:28 +0000Wan Manan Muda and Jomo Kwame Sundaramhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=163205Smoking-related diseases are the major causes of premature death worldwide. Every year, six million smoking-related deaths are reported worldwide. If current smoking trends persist, 8 million deaths can be expected by 2030, of which four-fifths will occur in lower- and middle-income countries. Start them young Many studies show that smoking is typically learned and started […]

Smoking-related diseases are the major causes of premature death worldwide. Every year, six million smoking-related deaths are reported worldwide. If current smoking trends persist, 8 million deaths can be expected by 2030, of which four-fifths will occur in lower- and middle-income countries.

Start them young
Many studies show that smoking is typically learned and started during adolescence. Owing to nicotine addiction, the earlier someone starts to smoke, the higher the likelihood he or she will continue the habit into adulthood, and the smaller the likelihood of stopping smoking.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Early smoking initiation is associated with greater risk of developing lung cancer. The younger the age of smoking initiation, the greater the harm it causes. Early initiation is associated with subsequent heavier smoking, higher dependency, less chance of stopping smoking, and higher mortality.

The first Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) in 2003 found that 20.2% of 13-15 year-old school-based adolescents were already smoking. Prevalence was much higher among males (36.3%) compared to females (4.2%). Subsequently, the 2009 GYTS reported reduced prevalence (18.2%) of current cigarette smoking among adolescents, mainly due to less male smokers (30.9%) while female smokers increased (5.3%).

Electronic cigarettes new threat
Many studies have reported increasing e-cigarette usage worldwide. E-cigarettes were touted as a means to help smokers stop smoking. However, studies suggest no difference between e-cigarette users and non-users in rates of successfully quitting.

As the vaping epidemic spreads, health risks associated with nicotine rise dangerously. Young people are vaping in record numbers in many parts of the world. “Adolescents don’t think they will get addicted to nicotine, but when they do want to stop, they find it’s very difficult,” notes Yale neuroscientist Marina Picciotto.

Despite many research reports highlighting its dangers and marketing tactics to hook teenagers and young adults, the number of vaping users continues to climb. And while it is possible to buy liquid or pod refills without nicotine, it is much harder to find them.

Many observers, including policymakers, overlook or underestimate the role of nicotine, a key ingredient in the vapours inhaled. Most teens do not realize that nicotine is deeply addictive. Studies show that young people who vape are much more likely to move on to cigarettes, which cause a broad range of diseases.

Wan Manan Muda

Why nicotine is so dangerous for youth
Nicotine is dangerous to health at any stage in life, but is especially dangerous before the brain is fully developed, around age 25. Studies show that nicotine can physically change the teenage brain. Adolescents do not think they will get addicted to nicotine, but find it very difficult to stop as “the adolescent brain is more sensitive to rewards”, according to Picciotto, who has studied nicotine addiction for decades.

The mesolimbic dopamine ‘reward’ system is a more primitive part of the brain which positively reinforces behaviour needed to survive, such as eating. As the mechanism is etched into the brain, it is hard to resist. When a teen inhales vapour with nicotine, the drug is quickly absorbed through blood vessels lining the lungs, reaching the brain in about 10 seconds. There, nicotine particles fit ‘well’ into receptors on nerve cells (neurons) throughout the brain.

Why nicotine cravings persist
“Nicotine, alcohol, heroin, or any drug of abuse works by hijacking the brain’s reward system”, according to Yale addiction neurobiologist, Nii Addy. The reward system was never meant for drugs, but evolved, enabling nicotine to biochemically interact well with natural neurotransmitters which activate the muscles in our body.

Once nicotine binds to the receptor, it signals the brain to release dopamine, a well-known neurotransmitter which generates a ‘feel-good’ feeling. Dopamine is part of the brain feedback system signalling that “whatever just happened felt good”, training the brain to repeat the action.

Unlike other drugs such as alcohol, nicotine quickly leaves the body once it is broken down by the liver. And once it is gone, the brain craves nicotine again. Craving, due to the drug that causes the dopamine rush, makes it difficult for addicted youth to quit nicotine.

Recent research, including human brain imaging studies, shows that “environmental cues, especially those associated with drug use, can change dopamine concentrations in the brain”. Simply seeing a person one vapes with, or visiting a school toilet where teens vape during the school day, can unleash intense cravings, making it difficult not to relapse.

Physical changes caused by nicotine
Nicotine also causes physical changes to the brain, some temporary, while others could be long-lasting. Cigarette smoking research has long shown that acetylcholine receptors in the brain increase with continuous exposure to nicotine, intensifying cravings.

But the receptors decrease after the brain is no longer exposed to nicotine, implying that such changes are reversible. Animal studies also show nicotine adversely affecting brain functions, relating to focus, memory and learning, which may be long-lasting.

According to Picciotto, nicotine can cause a developing brain to increase connections among cells in the cerebral cortex region in animals, which would cause cognitive function and attention problems, if also true for humans.

Vaping vs regular cigarettes
Comparing the pros and cons of vaping versus smoking is complicated. On the one hand, unlike regular combustible cigarettes, e-cigarettes probably do not produce 7,000 chemicals, some of which cause cancer. However, aerosol from vaping devices contains lead and volatile organic compounds, some of which are linked to cancer, while the long-term health effects of vaping are still unresearched.

E-cigarettes have not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as smoking cessation devices. But according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), e-cigarettes may be better for adult smokers if they completely replace smoking.

The ‘pod mod’ is a newer, popular vape device outcompeting many other e-cigarettes. The nicotine in these pods is two to ten times more concentrated than most ‘free-base’ nicotine in other vape liquids. A single pod from one vape manufacturer contains 0.7 mL of nicotine, about the same as 20 regular cigarettes.

Despite its highly addictive nature, people can successfully quit nicotine, particularly with personalized approaches under the guidance of suitably trained physicians. For young people, early intervention could significantly improve the quality of the rest of their lives.

Last year, WaterAid and HSBC launched a programme that delivers essential water, sanitation and hygiene services (known collectively as WASH) to apparel factories and nearby worker communities in Bangladesh and India.

The supply chains projects ensure that the investments in WASH extend beyond the workplace, improving not only the health and quality of life for workers and their families, but also increasing supply chain resilience and business productivity. Sustainable water use means more sustainable fashion through fairer working environments.

Meet Momena, whose life has been transformed by the simple yet vital introduction of clean water, decent toilets and somewhere to wash her hands whilst at work, thanks to WaterAid’s work.

Momena Khatun, 32, works as a sewing operator at a ready-made garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Her husband Kabir Mia also works in the factory and, although the family faces struggles financially, their two sons attend school, improving their life-chances for the future.

WaterAid, together with the factory owners, had already lowered water-abstraction rates through the construction of rainwater-harvesting systems. The next focus moved to improve access to drinking water, toilets and handwashing facilities not only in the factory, but also at home – where the situation is invariably far worse.

The family’s rented room in Naraynaganj, south-east of Dhaka, is convenient for work, but the standard of living in the building was dire. There were only two toilets for the entire block of at least 40 people, and they were filthy, unhygienic and hazardous.

To make matters worse, there was nowhere to wash your hands. Unsurprisingly, the children often prefered to go outside instead, increasing their vulnerability to diarrhoeal diseases, sickness and days off school.

With no other option, every morning the tenants argued over who was next in line for the bathrooms. Every day, Momena faced the grim choice of either being late for work, which reflected negatively on her performance; or leaving home without going to the toilet at all, ultimately leading to health problems and pain.

That horrendous situation has now changed. WaterAid, with funding from HSBC, has renovated the facilities in this tenancy and others like it. Three new toilet facilities have recently been constructed, all with separate cubicles for men and women, ensuring dignity, safety and privacy. In addition, the residents now have segregated bathing facilities with handwashing facilities and safe drinking water points.

“Separate female toilets and bathing facilities have dramatically changed our living conditions for the better! We faced real difficulties in using toilets in the morning in front of men”, explained Momena.

“Now I am comfortable and not hesitant to use the toilets and take showers when I need. The new look and cleanliness of the toilet and hygiene messages have encouraged us to maintain our toilets well. I am very happy and thankful to the project for their support to our community”.

A feeling of ownership of these new facilities has increased their chances of being properly managed and sustainably maintained. With this in mind, both the tenants and landlords were fully engaged in the project, and they discussed how everyone can play a part in ensuring the new water, sanitation and hygiene facilities remain hygienic and clean.

This renovation work has undoubtedly been transformational. The enhanced living conditions – now giving the garment workers access to clean water and decent sanitation facilities – have made a huge impact on the community’s lives. Now, Momena has a smoother morning bathroom routine and is rarely late for work.

Clean water, sanitation and hygiene have the power to change-for-good millions of lives like Momena’s. She and her community now have the potential to live healthy, productive and dignified lives.

WaterAid is leading work to improve WASH provision in the factory where Momena works. This collective work by WaterAid, funded by HSBC, will enable the trial and testing of the financial return on investment in these basic human rights of water and sanitation.

Octogenarian Yohei Sasakawa has travelled to more than 90 countries across the globe; from areas of conflict, to the jungles of Brazil, shaking hands, hugging and washing the feet of Hansen’s disease-affected people. His message is simple: Stop stigmatisation and eliminate the disease.

Sasakawa, who has spent more than 40 years working towards elimination of Hansen’s disease, is the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination and chairperson of The Nippon Foundation (TNF). Since 1975, TNF and its sister organisation, the Sasakawa Health Foundation (SHF), have contributed over USD200 million in financial support for the WHO’s Global Leprosy programme. Both foundations support elimination of the disease globally and provide information and awareness about the disease through the Leprosy Today website.

Sasakawa told IPS in an exclusive interview that he does not believe in sitting in “air-conditioned rooms” looking at data and making decisions about the elimination of the disease. “That will not be helpful to people. You must go to the actual site. That is why I travel across the world — even if it’s scorching deserts or the jungles of Brazil or areas that are difficult to reach or even areas that are dangerous.”

Sasakawa, who says that discrimination and stigmatisation against people affected by Hansen’s disease was the original human rights violation, advocated for this to be included in the United Nations human rights agenda.

Yohei Sasakawa, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination and chairperson of The Nippon Foundation, has dedicated more than four decades towards eliminating Hansen’s disease and putting an end to the stigmatisation that people affected by the disease face globally. Courtesy: Sasakawa Health Foundation/The Nippon Foundation

In 2010, his efforts bore fruition when the United Nations General Assembly Resolution on elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members and accompanying principle and guidelines was passed.

“If you look around us, there are multiple issues in front of us. When it comes to leprosy, people discriminating against people started in the age of the Old Testament. So it goes back a long time in our past history. So I think leprosy is the origin of human rights violation because of the fact that it started such a long time ago,” the recipient of the 2019 Order of the Rising Sun and 2018 Gandhi Peace Prize winner told IPS.

He said that 60 percent of the more than 210,000 new global leprosy cases for 2017 originated in India, adding that India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made a strong commitment to make 2030 the year of zero leprosy in the country.

Sasakawa is currently in Manila, Philippines, to attend the TNF/SHF-sponsored Global Forum of People’s Organisations on Hansen’s Disease, which is being held Sept. 7 to 10. He will also deliver a keynote address at the 20th International Leprosy Congress (ILC), which takes place Sept. 11 to 13.

Through his work Sasakawa has met more than 150 national leaders, including presidents and prime ministers, sharing his message and gaining their support and commitment to eliminate leprosy.

However, he stressed, that his efforts alone would not eliminate the disease and called on the youth to “take action in their own countries” and encouraged them to begin discussions for solutions on social media platforms.

YOHEI SASAKAWA, World Health Organization’s (WHO) Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination and chairperson of The Nippon Foundation, speaks to IPS correspondent Stella Paul about his decades long campaign to achieve zero leprosy and eliminate stigmatisation of those affected.

At his speech at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) summit in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised South-South cooperation and technology solutions, but issues of land ownership dog the ongoing negotiations.

As the second week of the UNCCD Conference of Parties (COP) kicked off in Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted South-South cooperation and issues of land degradation.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the high level segment, he said that it was increasingly accepted that climate change impacts were leading to a loss of land, plants and animal species, and that it was causing, “land degradation of various kinds (including) rise of sea levels, wave action, and erratic rainfall and storms”.

All of these issues have a significant impact on India, and other developing countries, and as such, the Prime Minister advocated, “greater South-South cooperation in addressing climate change, biodiversity and land degradation.”

He said India would act both internally and externally on this. Domestically, he said that India was increasing its commitment to restore 21 million hectares of land by 2030 to 26 million hectares, an increase of 5 million hectares. The co-benefit of this would be that it would help create a carbon sink for 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbon through increased tree cover.

On external action, he said that India was, “happy to help other friendly countries cost-effective satellite and space technologies,” and that it would be creating a Centre for Excellence at the Indian Council for Forestry Research and Education in Dehradun to promote South-South cooperation, where other countries could access technology and training.

Hard questions

Nevertheless, this avoids some of the hard questions that have been dogging the UNCCD COP. Who owns the land? Who is responsible when the land is no longer able to support a livelihood, and a farmer is forced to migrate?

These are not questions anyone thought about when they launched the UNCCD 25 years ago. But since degradation of land due to a variety of reasons precedes desertification, these questions are increasingly worrying policymakers, especially from developing countries. At the ongoing New Delhi summit, the issues have come to the fore, and have divided governments along the lines of developed and developing nations, a process familiar to observers of UN climate negotiations.

Despite Narendra Modi’s speech at the high level segment, these issues remained unresolved, with bureaucrats awaiting instructions from the 100-odd ministers gathered at the Indian capital.

The NGOs who work on farming issues are clear that land degradation cannot be halted unless farmers around the world have guaranteed rights over the land on which they grow food for everyone. This may sound like a no-brainer, but estimates show that globally only around 12% of all farmers can claim legal rights over the land they till. To this, experts would like to add the land held in various forms of community ownership, sometimes by indigenous communities. But few countries have strong laws to protect such ownership.

In the first week of the New Delhi summit, developing country governments have wanted this issue of land tenure being discussed at the UNCCD forum, and developed countries – led by the US delegation – have opposed the inclusion. The industrialised countries say it is an issue of different laws in different countries, and discussing it in the UN is not going to help.

Land tenure

But, with land degradation being inextricably tied up with climate change and biodiversity, the urgency of the situation may force UNCCD to discuss land tenure in this and future meetings, and to come up with possible solutions.

The solutions are not always as straightforward as they may seem, warned UNCCD chief scientist Baron Orr in a conversation with thethirdpole.net. Think of what a farmer – especially a smallholder farmer – is likely to do if offered a high price for land. Most of them are likely to sell, as evidenced by the mushrooming malls, offices and homes all around the current summit venue, which was all farmland just about a decade ago. And what happens to our food supply if this replicated globally?

Land tenure is important to halt degradation because people naturally provide better protection to land they own. But it is not enough. A farmer faced with competitors using chemical fertilisers and pesticides is not going to move to organic farming just because that is better for the soil.

Most farmers cannot afford to do that. They need help, as was seen in India when the state of Sikkim pledged to do only organic farming. Sikkim is a relatively small state – replicating that kind of help on a global or even national scale may need far more money than is available for the purpose, as Orr pointed out.

Farmers being forced to migrate because their farms can no longer support them due to land degradation and climate change is the hottest potato of them all. Developed countries are united in opposing this major “push” factor in migration, insisting that people migrate only due to “pull” factors such as better economic opportunities. Developing countries, especially those from the Sahel belt stretching from the western to the eastern coast of Africa, point to numerous instances where farmers are forced off land gone barren, and insist on this issue being discussed by UNCCD.

Former UNCCD chief Monique Barbut has said almost all Africans trying to move to Europe are doing so due to land degradation and drought. Without putting it in words that strong, current UNCCD chief Ibrahim Thiaw has backed the inclusion of migration in the conference agenda.

As host government and conference president, India may have to use all its diplomatic skills if this knot is to be untied during this summit – an especially tricky manoeuvre because India has consistently refused to accept that immigrants from Bangladesh are entering this country because their farms can no longer support them.

And it is not just migration across countries. At a meeting organised on the sidelines of the summit by local government organisation ICLEI, mayor after mayor got up to say farmers are coming into their cities in increasing numbers due to land degradation and climate change, but they have no budget to provide any housing, water, electricity, roads or any form of livelihood to these millions of immigrants.

Still, developed country delegations insist UNCCD is not the right forum to discuss migration. What all 196 governments and the European Union agree upon in the next day or two remains to be seen.

Human efforts

Prakash Javadekar, India’s Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and the conference president, had said at the opening, “If human actions have created the problems of climate change, land degradation and biodiversity loss, it is the strong intent, technology and intellect that will make (the) difference. It is human efforts that will undo the damage and improve the habitats. We meet here now to ensure that this happens.” This foreshadowed what the Prime Minister said today.

He pointed out that 122 countries, among them Brazil, China, India, Nigeria, Russia and South Africa, which are among the largest and most populous nations on earth, “have agreed to make the Sustainable Development Goal of achieving land degradation neutrality a national target.”

Thiaw drew attention to the warnings sounded by recent scientific assessments and the growing public alarm at the frequency of weather-related disasters such as drought, forest fires, flash floods and soil loss. He urged delegates to be mindful of the opportunities for change that are opening up, and take action. The response of governments from developed countries will decide how useful the current summit will be.

The world is in trouble otherwise. The current pace of land transformation is putting a million species at risk of extinction. One in four hectares of this converted land is no longer usable due to unsustainable land management practices. These trends have put the well-being of 3.2 billion people around the world at risk. In tandem with climate change, this may force up to 700 million people to migrate by 2050.

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/india-promotes-south-south-cooperation-key-questions-unaddressed/feed/0Eritrea Tops Watchlist of World’s Most-Censored Countrieshttp://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/eritrea-tops-watchlist-worlds-censored-countries/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=eritrea-tops-watchlist-worlds-censored-countries
http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/eritrea-tops-watchlist-worlds-censored-countries/#respondTue, 10 Sep 2019 04:21:05 +0000James Reinlhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=163191Eritrea has the world’s highest levels of censorship and the most active government in jailing reporters and stifling newspapers, radio and television, a study by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) watchdog says. The authoritarian Horn of Africa nation, which shuttered all independent media in 2001 and currently has some 16 journalists behind bars, is […]

In Eritrea, many of the journalists who were jailed in the 2001 media crackdown remain behind bars, the Committee to Protect Journalists says.
Courtesy: UN Photo

By James ReinlUNITED NATIONS, Sep 10 2019 (IPS)

Eritrea has the world’s highest levels of censorship and the most active government in jailing reporters and stifling newspapers, radio and television, a study by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) watchdog says.

The authoritarian Horn of Africa nation, which shuttered all independent media in 2001 and currently has some 16 journalists behind bars, is followed by North Korea and Turkmenistan as the world’s worst places to work as a reporter, the CPJ says.

“The internet was supposed to make censorship obsolete, but that hasn’t happened,” the group’s executive director Joel Simon said in a statement upon releasing the annual report Tuesday.

“Many of the world’s most censored countries are highly wired, with active online communities. These governments combine old-style brutality with new technology, often purchased from Western companies, to stifle dissent and control the media.”

The top 10 watchlist of countries that “flout international freedom of expression norms and guarantees” also includes Saudi Arabia, China, Vietnam, Iran, Equatorial Guinea, Belarus, and the Caribbean island of Cuba.

In Eritrea, many of the journalists who were jailed in the 2001 media crackdown remain behind bars, the CPJ says. The government controls most broadcast outlets; internet connections are hard to find, and foreign radio signals are jammed.

Eritrean law says reporters must promote “national objectives”. Journalists at the country’s state-run media outlets “toe the government’s editorial line for fear of retaliation”, the CPJ said in a nine-page report.

Eritrea’s mission to the United Nations did not answer an interview request from IPS.

In North Korea, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) runs nearly all the country’s newspapers and broadcasters and sticks to reporting on the latest comments and activities of the reclusive nation’s leader Kim Jong Un.

KCNA has typically been “highly restrictive in its coverage of foreign news”, but that changed in recent months, allowing for reporting on talks between Kim and United States President Donald Trump over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.

Free media also remains largely absent in Turkmenistan, where President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov “enjoys absolute control” over newspapers and broadcasters and wields this power to “promote his cult of personality”, the CPS says.

“A handful of independent Turkmenistan-focused media outlets, such as Khronika Turkmenistana, operate in exile, and anyone who attempts to access the website can be questioned by the authorities,” the report says.

The group also names Saudi Arabia as an offender, spotlighting the murder and dismemberment of Saudi journalist and government critic Jamal Khashoggi in the country’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, in October 2018.

The oil-rich kingdom has witnessed a “sharp deterioration” in media freedoms during the ascendancy of the country’s crown prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman, with new anti-terror and cybercrime laws helping to silence journalists, the CPJ says.

The CPJ report was released only days after the hardline religious militant Taliban group kidnapped six local journalists in Afghanistan last week, as they were travelling to a media workshop in Paktika province.

CPJ researchers noted that journalists struggled with war and instability in such countries as Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia, but said that these issues were “not necessarily attributable solely to government censorship”.

The CPJ media freedom ranking is similar to the list compiled by Reporters Without Borders, another watchdog, which also shames Eritrea, North Korea and Turkmenistan as the world’s worst three countries for independent journalism.

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/eritrea-tops-watchlist-worlds-censored-countries/feed/0The Costs of Heightened Conflict in the Himalayashttp://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/costs-heightened-conflict-himalayas/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=costs-heightened-conflict-himalayas
http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/costs-heightened-conflict-himalayas/#respondTue, 10 Sep 2019 03:54:20 +0000Omair Ahmadhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=163188Omair Ahmad is the South Asia Managing Editor for The Third Pole.

As a series of conflicts in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region come into sharp focus, sidelining local populations, the long-term environmental costs may leave the region degraded, poor and desperate. Courtesy: CC by 2.0/Lensmatter

By Omair AhmadSep 10 2019 (IPS)

As a series of conflicts in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region come into sharp focus, sidelining local populations, the long-term environmental costs may leave the region degraded, poor and desperate.

It has been a month since India cut off communications and implemented a security lockdown in the part of Kashmir it governs. While India has explained that the governance changes it is implementing – rendering significant legislative changes in territory it governs – as an internal matter, the move has drawn strong reactions from Pakistan and China, both of which claim the territory, at least in some part. The political outcome of these changes are a matter for both international relations and domestic politics within the various countries, but this move is one of many political factors that will make cooperation over the environment in the Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH) far more difficult.

The Indus, a river of troubles

The impact of any political troubles will be felt the most along the Indus, which rises in Tibetan territory controlled by China, winds through the part of Kashmir under Indian control, enters Pakistan, with one stretch entering and exiting Afghanistan, before reaching the sea after traversing Pakistani territory. The two countries where most of the Indus basin is located are India and Pakistan, and their management of the river is largely governed by the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) signed in 1960. The Treaty has survived the outbreak of the 1965 war and the 1971 war between the two countries, as well as a host of skirmishes and conflict, and it is unlikely to be negatively affected now, as it was not affected in the last such crisis in 2017.

The problem, though, is less about the treaty as it has functioned in the past, but how it will function in the future. The IWT was a product of its times, and thus issues like environmental impact were not covered. The recent Hindu Kush Himalayan Monitoring and Assessment Programme (HIMAP) project led by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development highlighted that climate change impacts – everything from irregular rainfall to glacier retreat – in the HKH region would be felt most within the Indus basin. These are new factors that the treaty is not designed to cover. The hope that these could be brought into the treaty has now receded. With the Pakistani government withdrawing its High Commissioner from India, and lowering its diplomatic engagement, it seems unlikely that these issues will get the attention they deserve.

More importantly the Kabul river, part of the Indus, is not covered by any treaty. Pakistani policymakers have been hoping for an IWT-type treaty between Pakistan and Afghanistan would deal with many outstanding issues. But with lowered cooperation between India and Pakistan, the IWT looks less and less like a good example to follow. The idea of including China as well, so that the four countries could all be involved in the joint management of a river basin that they all share now seems almost impossible to imagine.

In the meanwhile conflict will continue to degrade the environment, while also limiting scientific access to the more remote parts of the HKH region. Both Indian and Pakistani troops continue to be deployed on the Siachen glacier, the highest battlefield in the world, costing both countries significant amounts of expenditure and significant loss of lives due to the harsh climatic conditions. The material and garbage accumulated on a glacier has significant negative effects for the environment, not to mention cutting off areas like this from any kind of scientific assessment. Reports like HIMAP, dependent on the cooperation of the various governments, will have to continue to deal with these blind spots.

The dangers of over-centralisation

By its very nature, conflict centralises decisionmaking, as security issues take precedence over everything else. This can have disastrous results on the local environment. This was most clearly demonstrated by the Rohingya crisis in Mayanmar and Bangladesh. The million refugees created due to the crisis led to the environmental destitution of the areas where the refugees were settled in camps.

By laying mines across the areas the routes that the Rohingya took, the Myanmarese military may have meant only to restrict human movement, but these were also traditional elephant corridors. Insurgency and civil war in India’s northeast and Nepal, had a deleterious impact on the rhino population, as poachers found it easy to operate. All 30 rhinos translocated to the Bardiya National Park where killed during the Nepalese civil conflict. In Kashmir, the decades of conflict have led to extensive poaching, the destruction of delicate habitats, and a timber mafia operating with impunity. With militarised borders, populations of key species, such as the yak, will find it difficult to travel freely, leading to limited cross breeding, and the decline of their populations.

The centralising tendencies of governments when it comes to “internal security” issues can possibly be best seen in the Tibetan region, where Beijing insisted on implementing agricultural and animal husbandry practices out of sync with local cultures. The local practices had evolved in consonance with the environment of the region, and had been more sustainable, something that China is now discovering, decades after putting into place self-harming practices. Nevertheless this sidelining of local populations remains a significant part of China’s investments abroad, with the China Pakistan Economic Corridor offering a very clear example. Due to its high political value for Pakistan, the investments are handled at high government levels with military support. Local factors are rarely factored in, so the heavy investment at the Gwadar port being built at the end of CPEC has managed to isolate and marginalise local fisherfolk.

Making the mountains poorer

Lastly, there are significant financial costs of the conflict on local people. Fear of violence undermines the confidence of outsiders willing to invest in a region, leaving people dependent on either government funds or their own limited means. The HKH region is one of the most biodiversity rich regions on the planet, and yet its mountain population are significantly poorer than their fellow citizens in their own countries. Despite potential opportunities for innovation and investment, the remoteness of the communities means that other than heavy infrastructure such as dams – which tend to marginalise local communities even more – investment does not reach these areas.

Fear of conflict will only make this more difficult, depriving the 240 million people that live in the mountainous areas of the HKH region that much poorer. This is at a time when climate change is already negatively impacting traditional crops such as apples, and half of the springs in the HKH region have either dried up, or become seasonal from perennial. Desperate people, who have few options, and whose involvement in governance is limited, make for poor caretakers of the environment.

While discussion of conflict between the countries of the Himalayan region is often spoken of in the same breath as nuclear war, the clear and present danger of a breakdown of cooperation in the region may be simpler. The price of conflict may simply mean that the environment is degraded, species are lost, scientific enquiry is stifled, investment is hobbled, and the hundreds of millions of people dependent on the delicate ecosystem of the HKH region will be made poorer and more miserable. It may not be a global catastrophe, but it will certainly be a series of local catastrophes.

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/costs-heightened-conflict-himalayas/feed/0Awareness Should be the Priority in Public Health Efforts against Leprosyhttp://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/awareness-priority-public-health-efforts-leprosy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=awareness-priority-public-health-efforts-leprosy
http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/awareness-priority-public-health-efforts-leprosy/#respondMon, 09 Sep 2019 12:44:28 +0000Ben Kritzhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=163176Increasing awareness of the continuing existence of Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) is critical to sustaining effective public health efforts against the disease, eliminating the social stigma associated with it, and halting its transmission. That was the consensus reached by participants at the Global Forum of People’s Organisations on Hansen’s Disease in Manila on Sept. 9, following […]

]]>The post Awareness Should be the Priority in Public Health Efforts against Leprosy appeared first on Inter Press Service.
]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/awareness-priority-public-health-efforts-leprosy/feed/0Farm Workers Paying the Price for Cheap South African Winehttp://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/farm-workers-paying-prize-cheap-south-african-wine/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=farm-workers-paying-prize-cheap-south-african-wine
http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/farm-workers-paying-prize-cheap-south-african-wine/#respondMon, 09 Sep 2019 12:30:44 +0000Ivar Andersenhttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=163175Systembolaget, the Swedish government-owned alcohol monopoly, promises fair conditions – but it also uses its purchasing power to put a downward pressure on prices. At the major South African wine producer Leeuwenkuil, workers suffer as the company tries to cut costs. So far, none of the South African suppliers have been stopped due to violations […]

The United Nations held its first major international conference in one of America’s mountain states, bringing scores of civil society organizations (CSOs) to discuss ways on making “cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable by 2030.”

The annual UN Civil Society Conference, which had been meeting mostly in New York, site of the UN world headquarters, and in some foreign capitals, was hosted by Salt Lake City’s Mayor’s office August 26-28 under the title “Building Inclusive and sustainable cities and communities.”

More than half of the current world population of 7.7 billion now live in cities big and small. The UN has projected that the world population will reach 9.7 billion by 2050 and 5 billion of them will be in living in urban areas. Megacities of 10-20 million people each will be even bigger.

The conference adopted a lengthy outcome document that pledged to implement one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which calls for focusing on cities and human settlements throughout the world buffeted by climate change, insecurity and economic problems.

The document urged all stakeholders “to enhance inclusivity and respect for the dignity of all, from which human rights originate” and “to work to remove unjust systemic barriers to success, noting that bias and discrimination marginalize and segregate large segments of society.”

It urged stakeholders to “apply conscious inclusivity and respect for human dignity and rights in our daily lives while advocating for similar efforts in our corporate and organizational lives, in our laws, regulations, policies, and practices, and in our economy.”

The president of the UN General Assembly, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, praised NGOs for their contribution to strengthen the work of the UN. But she warned that many major challenges have remained unaddressed.

“I encourage you to continue to engage with your governments to ensure that we use these opportunities to put us on the right path, and work in your communities on local solutions and initiatives that have the potential to be scaled-up and replicated.”

Salt Lake City introduced its Youth Climate Compact during the conference, calling for raising awareness in “our own communities about policy that is detrimental to the health of our planet and promote policy which works to confront the main causes of the climate crisis.”

The Youth Climate Compact said an estimated 143 million people around the world will be displaced by climate change by 2050.

The delegation from China was headed by Dezhi Lu, vice president of China Charity Alliance, and chair of the Huamin Charity Organization.

Attendees included a delegation from China headed by Dezhi Lu, vice president of China Charity Alliance, and chair of the Huamin Charity Organization, a non-governmental organization among the dozens of UN-recognized NGOs.

NGOs are the “most powerful part of society” and they can bring inclusiveness and collective sharing in human settlements, said Lu.

“Inclusiveness is a celebration of our diversity,” Lu noted. “The first step of this is communication and mutual learning. NGOs are diverse, open, and peaceful organizations and are therefore in the best position to understand the value and strength of an inclusive society.”

Lu said he spent the last 10 years visiting NGOs around the world and found that inclusiveness and collective sharing are the most important values for the development of human civilization.

Efforts to build and protect cities and human communities come at a time the world, human lives and all creatures and the eco-systems are threatened by climate change, conflicts and a long list of woes that are chipping away the earth’s habitable environments desired by its inhabitants.

The focus on cities and human settlements is one of 2030 Global Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.

The rural-to-urban migration is expected to continue in some of the most populous countries like China, India and some African countries.

China, the world’s most populous country with 1.4 billion, has acknowledged that 56 percent of its population already live in cities and the urban population is expected to increase to 60 percent by 2020. China’s massive migration to cities has been unprecedented in world contemporary history.

]]>http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/civil-society-urges-inclusive-resilient-sustainable-urban-areas-future/feed/0Why Prosecuting Human Traffickers in Nigeria is Nothing More than a Miragehttp://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/why-prosecuting-human-traffickers-nigeria-poor-prosecution-of-human-traffickers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-prosecuting-human-traffickers-nigeria-poor-prosecution-of-human-traffickers
http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/09/why-prosecuting-human-traffickers-nigeria-poor-prosecution-of-human-traffickers/#respondMon, 09 Sep 2019 04:27:40 +0000Tobore Ovuoriehttp://www.ipsnews.net/?p=163149In this Voices from the Global South podcast, IPS takes you to Lagos, Nigeria, to understand why the country's national agency against trafficking has only successfully prosecuted 339 offenders over the last 13 years.

This is part of a series of features from across the globe on human trafficking. IPS coverage is supported by the Riana Group.

In this Voices from the Global South podcast, IPS takes you to Lagos, Nigeria, to understand why the country's national agency against trafficking has only successfully prosecuted 339 offenders over the last 13 years.

This is part of a series of features from across the globe on human trafficking. IPS coverage is supported by the Riana Group.